TERRE HAUTE, Ind. - Sen. Barack Obama was criticized Friday by his two fellow presidential candidates for statements he made recently at a San Francisco fundraiser that could be viewed as derogatory toward rural America.

"You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing's replaced them," Obama said Sunday, according to the Huffington Post web site.

"And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not," Obama reportedly continued. "It's not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations."

Obama does not allow reporters into fundraisers held at private residences, so they were not reported at the time.

The comments could fuel suggestions that Obama can be arrogant. They began circulating on the Internet Friday and drew rapid responses from both Sen. Hillary Clinton, his rival for the Democratic nomination, and Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican nominee.

"It's a remarkable statement and extremely revealing," McCain adviser Steve Schmidt said in a statement. "It shows an elitism and condescension towards hardworking Americans that is nothing short of breathtaking, it is hard to imagine someone running for president who is more out of touch with average Americans."

Clinton, campaigning in Pennsylvania, also suggested Obama sounded like an elitist.

“I’m out of touch? No, I’m in touch,” he said. “I know exactly what’s going on. I know what’s going on in Pennsylvania, I know what’s going on in Indiana. I know what’s going on in Illinois. People are fed up, they’re angry, frustrated and they’re bitter and they want to see a change in Washington.”

Pinging John Edwards!

When you look around at the people you know, does that describe you? Full of bitterness and despair?

...they cling to Marxist revolutions or racist preachers or anitpathy to people who are not as politically correct as them or pro-illegal alien sentiment or an anti-American mentality as a way to explain their frustrations.

There, that's better!

17
posted on 04/11/2008 8:10:04 PM PDT
by Wilhelm Tell
(True or False? This is not a tag line.)

You know...The damaging part about this, is not that he meant to be huerful, or he intended to be derogatory..the damaging part of his description, is the fact that this is how he sees, and thinks about americans who donnt live in big city rat warrens of Liberalism. It is eye opening to see that he thinks of small town America as soomehow being natural preserves for americas not too bright relatives. Gun totin, bible thumpin, xenophobes, who are somehow clueless, that the products of their labors, are intrinsically tied to international trade.

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